Scholar of the Vanyar
by Cloaked Eagle
Summary: Parmiel of Valmar has written her treatise on Finrod Felagund. How will the King react... and what will his family think? Sequel to The Advancement of Learning.


Disclaimer: Parmiel and her book, along with her teacher Elisseva, are my own characters. All others mentioned belong to Professor Tolkien, as do most of the events referred to. What isn't from Tolkien is almost certainly from The Advancement of Learning, my previous work, to which this is a sequel.

_Lord of Caves: A Biography of King Finrod Felagund and his Realm of Nargothrond_

_Composed by Parmiel of Valmar with the aid of many present during the events herein described._

_Approved for inclusion in the libraries of the Blessed Realm by the renowned scholar Elisseva of Valmar._

When Amarië entered the study, she found her husband exactly where she had left him almost a day earlier – staring intently at the book in front of him as if he expected it to get up and run away if he took his eyes off it. "You'd do better to open it," she said softly. "Not even your sister's been able to perfect reading by tercen, and she's been trying for a long time."

"Artanis is just lazy," Finrod murmured. "She could do it if she wasn't so easily distracted."

"I absolutely agree," Amarië said. "When are we going on that expedition to Formenos, again?"

"What? Oh." Finrod looked up at her with a mock scowl on his face. "You know what I meant."

"Yes, my heart, I do." The Vanya reached out and touched her husband's cheek lightly. "What's bothering you about this book?"

"Other than the fact that young Parmiel's depiction of me is based on the opinions of, in no particular order, my wife, my siblings, and my former steward and herald?" Finrod shook his head ruefully. "I don't know. I just… well, I didn't honestly expect her to finish the thing."

"You underestimate the girl," Amarië pointed out. "She's been very dedicated. Even overcame her fear of the Valar and tried to hunt down Ulmo – Ulmo! Even King Manwë can't find him half the time – to verify the dream story."

"Yes, I heard. Mother was there when she came ashore, and so, of course, the ever-eager scholar questioned _her_, too." Finrod shook his head again. "I don't know, really," he went on. "I think it's just… well, it's been so long. What if she's got it wrong?" Then he sighed. "What if she's got it _right_?"

"You're thinking it might be painful to read," Amarië surmised. Finrod nodded gloomily.

"I _want_ to, I really do – the first proper work on my city since the First Age! – but the memories it might bring back… it still hurts to think about what happened to Beren, to Luthien… if she's gone into detail about the Nightingale's treatment in _my city_ by Curufin and Celegorm, I think I'd break down in tears," he added frankly. "And if she talks about my death, or the fall of Nargothrond… I don't think I could stand it."

Amarië's hand was soft on his shoulder. "I understand completely," she said gently. "It was hard for me telling her some parts, and for you… but you really should know what's been said about you, if only because your grandparents are _sure_ to know."

Finrod laughed suddenly. "Oh, yes, I can just imagine Olwë's reaction to the story. Or, Ulmo protect, Indis's…" He shook his head yet again. "I suppose I'll have to read it, then." He reached for the book, but Amarië pressed her hand down onto his.

"No, you don't," she said. "_I_ need to find out what's in it, too, remember. So I shall read it to you, and," she looked down at him with a twinkle in her eye, "if you need to stop and have a nice cry, I'll be there to comfort you. What more could you possibly need?"

"Oh, what indeed?" Finrod murmured, standing up and following his wife out into the warmly lit main hall of their house. "What, indeed?"

* * *

Why am I writing this now? Well, I've recently been inspired to remember just how fun Finrod is to write -- and by extension, Amarië and Parmiel. So I decided to make a sequel to The Advancement of Learning. Will there be more to this? I'm not sure. If there is, we will of course meet Parmiel in person (and see whether success has changed her), and likely be introduced to the rest of House Finarfin. Which should be fun (although I've used most of them in other stories, some of them not yet published or complete). 

As with TAoL, I'll include a list of Quenya words used. These will be a lot more common if and when Parmiel shows up, of course.

Parmiel - the up-and-coming Vanyarin scholar. Her name means either 'Book maiden' or 'daughter of books', depending on who you ask.

Elisseva - a renowned (male) Vanyarin scholar and teacher at the time of the story. He teaches, or taught, Parmiel. His name means 'Star of knowledge'.

Tercen - 'insight', in this case used in the sense of telepathic insight.

Cloaked Eagle


End file.
